Bayan members depicted the president as a "national pest" — a giant termite wearing a camouflage — to dramatize their indignation at the "fascism, puppetry and treason" of Arroyo against the people during their rally at the Fountain of Justice here.
Among the points that Bayan and its allied organizations, particularly the Kilusang Mayo Uno-Negros, raised against the President are her opposition to a P125 wage increase, calling it anti-worker, when government statistics show that the nominal wage is not enough for the current cost of living that has been pegged at P420 in the provinces and more than P500 in Metro Manila; the continued increase in the prices of petroleum and basic goods; the failure of government to address the power problem; heightened militarization and fascist attacks on progressive organizations, with at least 17 Bayan and Bayan Muna leaders killed across the country this year; and the entry of US troops under the Balikatan exercises.
Meanwhile, the Office of the President reported that the Arroyo administration has generated 44,930 new jobs in agriculture in Region VI and has effected the inclusion of 241,410 beneficiaries or 48,282 urban poor families in the National Health Insurance Program.
The report furnished by Press Undersecretary Roberto Capco contains information on national targets set by the President in her State of the Nation Address last year and accomplishments reached in Western Visayas. — Antonieta Lopez